New Year, New Series

Many people love a series! They enjoy watching characters grow, relationships change, and worlds being created. Some readers read the books right when they come out and wait in anticipation until the next one is released. Others like to hear about a series that has several titles so that they can dive in and read them all straight through -- kind of like binge watching your favorite t.v. show! One thing I know for sure is that everyone hates when their favorite series is over.

Well, the new year is the perfect time to discover a new one. In 2016, there were several great debuts that can start you reading in a new direction, discovering uncharted territory and meeting new friends. (Everyone becomes friends with book characters, right? It's not just me...)

Take a look at this list of new series to start and by the time you are finished with the first installment the second (or third) is sure to be on it's way soon.

Get to know a genteel sleuth named Laetitia Rodd, who operates with wit, tact, and ingenuity in Kate Saunder's The Secrets of Wishtide. Or explore a 25th century human civilization divided into philosophical sects inspired by the Age of Enlightenment in 18th century Europe in Too like the Lightning by Ada Palmer. Fans of Poldark will find The Shores of Tripoli by James Haley to be appealing, while acclaimed historian Alison Weir will enchant readers with Six Tudor Queens, starting with Katherine of Aragon.

The Unquiet Dead by Ausma Zehanat Khan debuts Muslim-Canadian detective Esa Khattack and his partner, Detective Rachel Getty. The third in the series is coming out next month. Fans of international police procedurals should get started with these soon! Lastly, fans of fast-paced urban fantasy should meet Nell Ingram, who wields powers as old as the earth in Faith Hunter's new Soulwood series, starting with Blood of the Earth.

In the 25th century, to pay for his crimes, Mycroft Canner is required to wander the world being as useful as he can to all he meets; Carlyle Foster is a spiritual counselor in a world that as outlawed religion; and a young boy named Bridger with the ability to make his wishes come may hold the key to destabilizing the chaotic form of utopia they all live in.

The secrets of Wishtide : a Laetitia Rodd mystery

Saunders, Kate.

A debut entry in a new series by the award-winning author of "Five Children on the Western Front" introduces archdeacon's widow and private investigator Laetitia Rodd, who goes undercover to assist her barrister brother during a case involving the illicit affairs of a nobleman's son.

The shores of Tripoli

Haley, James L., author.

The first novel in a brilliant new series by award-winning historian James L. Haley, featuring young midshipman Bliven Putnam as he begins his naval service aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise.

The unquiet dead

Khan, Ausma Zehanat.

Detective Esa Khattack and his partner, Detective Rachel Getty, investigate the death of a local man who may have been a Bosnian war criminal with ties to the Srebrenica massacre of 1995, in a haunting debut novel of loss, redemption and the cost of justice.

Katherine of Aragon, the true queen : a novel

Weir, Alison, 1951- author.

Young Katherine of Aragon, daughter of Spain's powerful monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella, was an exquisite prize in the royal marriage market. Golden-haired, sixteen years old, she was sent to England to marry the future king, Arthur, Prince of Wales. But when Arthur died a few months after their wedding, Katherine's bright future was suddenly eclipsed. It took his younger brother Henry VIII eight long years to do the honorable thing and marry her. Their union was briefly happy until Katherine failed to bear a son, and Anne Boleyn caught Henry's eye.

Blood of the earth

Hunter, Faith, author.

Forced out of her isolated life, Nell Ingram—referred to PsyLED, a government agency policing paranormals by skinwalker Jane Yellowrock—is thrust into an investigation that leads her to the vampire Blood Master of Nashville and deep into the heart of the very cult she fears. By the New York Times best-selling author of Shadow Rites.